US Senator: Netanyahu Found ‘President Stupid Enough’ as Hormuz Stays Closed, Gas Prices Surge

Iran war gas prices are climbing fast, and the Strait of Hormuz closed with no clear end date is now the central reason why. Iranian professor Foad Izadi confirmed on Channel 4 News that the strait will stay shut until Iran receives full financial compensation for damages caused by US and Israeli strikes. At the same time, Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen went on record saying Netanyahu waited 40 years to find a US president willing to launch this attack, and that the Trump administration still has no plan. Gas prices surge is what Americans are feeling right now at the pump, and oil price 2026 forecasts are getting darker by the day.

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Iran Won’t Reopen Hormuz Until Compensated for War Damage as Gas Prices Head to $4

The Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that carries roughly 20% of the world’s daily oil supply, has been effectively closed since early March. Iranian forces declared it shut on March 2nd, and shipping traffic has dropped to near zero. War risk insurance premiums have spiked so sharply that most shipping companies simply stopped sending vessels through.

Professor Foad Izadi, speaking to Channel 4 News, was direct about Iran’s position:

“The Iranian government wants to be paid for all the damages that the United States and Israel have done. Straight of Hormuz will be closed for some time until some sort of economic, financial solution is achieved. The days of everybody enjoying cheap oil and Iranians suffering under sanctions, those are over.”

He added that Iran’s new leadership will not settle for anything less than full repayment, and that every cent of the damage caused will be collected before the strait reopens.

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A US Senator’s Verdict on the War

Senator Chris Van Hollen, Democrat from Maryland, didn’t hold back when speaking to reporters on March 11th. His assessment of how the US ended up in this war was sharp and direct:

“Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said the other day he’s been waiting 40 years, waiting 40 years to launch this attack. And he finally found an American president in Donald Trump who was stupid enough and reckless enough to do it. The Trump administration has no plan. They’ve never had a plan. Their rationales shift day to day. They have no end game.”

Van Hollen also pointed to the human cost. The war has killed seven US service members, wounded many more, and taken the lives of Iranian civilians including children.

What This Means for Oil and Gas

Energy markets were already under pressure before these statements landed. Goldman Sachs raised its US recession odds by 5 percentage points to 25%, directly citing the Hormuz disruption, and bumped its 2026 inflation forecast up to 2.9%.

Rystad Energy chief economist Claudio Galimberti put it bluntly: “The world is not going to be able to withstand the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. If the strait remains closed, you probably go towards $200 per barrel.”

RBC Capital Markets global commodity strategist Helima Croft called it “the biggest energy crisis since the oil embargo in the 1970s.”

At the pump, Americans are already feeling it. Gas prices are projected to hit $4 a gallon by the weekend according to GasBuddy analysts. The IEA released 400 million barrels from emergency reserves across 32 member countries, the largest such action in its history, and prices are still climbing.

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Oxford Economics warned that if oil averages $140 a barrel for two months, that would be enough to push the eurozone, the UK and Japan into contraction, with the US facing an economic standstill. The gas prices surge Americans are seeing right now may only be the beginning.